The Sun. — London, England, 1809-04-06 00:00:00

iIiIGOSSA. A NARIATLVE oi;*. TFIN StLICIB SARAGQ46A ) C. r1.11011:114, I. 13, • - Satagossa, the t!apital of, the kingdom of Arra .gon, 'which has at last fallen, afier a moat glorious straggle, is seatedin. d valley of .the Ebro, .on the right bank of that river, with a suburb upon the left bank,, eoune(lawith it by a stone bridAe. From the city, as far. the high ynoutitiiiili that bound the view' oo eiilier hand, the country is covered with olive trees;, and the neighbouriag disiriCt, un der an extensive system of irrigation, producci corn and' fruits in abundance. Though the mountains are distant,: vet the city is coMmanded by some high ground, called the Torrero, about a wile to the It -west, upon which there is.a convent, and other buildings of interior note. The canal of Arragon, over which there is a bridge, divides the Torrero, from another elevation, where the Arragonese ere et ed a batteryprevionsly to the siege. The walls of Saragossa appear to hive been con strg' cled merely to ,facilit,ite . the means of levying upon,every article broUght into the town for 14.111 e: thegates, which are nine in number, are of thf: most simple construction, .and the alignment befween them is in some places preserved bit,the Inwl-wall of a garden, in others, by buildings, 'or by l the remains d an old Moorish wall, which has a tlighl. part pet, but : without aoy. platform, even :104,tuusquetry. ' . ; The buildings of the city are brick, and the two eatbedrais, thy prallaroi.js tOpventi and churches, th f! niti built of the same en4tertak, are not alto ' gtite,vtlevniff., ,, f 9 rnatnent, The houses are, three . stopes,in,lieight.; thetitreets very narrow and croolt. ed, Li gpting one or two market-places, and the, streekealled the Cozo, situated nearly i tile, centre of pas dawn. l'he,population of Saragossa may be estimated at ebout, 60,00(3 ; although the caucus, taken in 17;37; gives only .t,doo It was rin the of May, 1800, that tlo: inha. bitktits.of this detencele&s. city, a 1,4 the peasantry oldie anrrounding country, ruse in a.inass, to repel the unprincipled aggressions of the French. The Coptng.General of Arragon, had .be trait(' an inclination to submit to .the - enemy, bylittempting to disarm • the people ; conse quence of this', he was seized, and thrown into pri sms, and the inhabitants of Saragossa, and of tits, neighbouriog villages, unanimously conferred the gra-. vernment upon Don Joseph Pala fox, the youngest of three brothero of one of the Most distinguished fa milies in Arragun. - At. the commenceinent of the revolution, this nobleman had been selected from the officers of the guards, to .be second in command , to the Marquis de Castillar, to whose custody the Prince of the Peace was confided after his arrest at. Aranjuez ; ha afterwards 'accompanied Ferdinand VII. to Bay onne, from whence he had recently escaped; ii the disguise of a poisant, to hia• country seat near Saragossa. • This distinguished NoLleman is about thirty-four years. of age; hie person 'of mititne stature, his eyes . lively 4trll expressive, and his whole deport merit that of a perfectly well-bred luau, accustomed to the best society. _ _ _ At the' time when Don Joseph Palafox as sumed the command in Arragon, be had very littie acquaintance in military, affiiirs ; for though lteehad been' in the Spanish guards all his be had •never seen aeloial service, and his time feel been principallye passed the dissipation of Madrid, where he had gained no inctnisiderable dis tieetion, from the splendour and fashion of his ap pearance. • At the commencement of his command,.on the $5 ll l May, the neighbouring provinces of Navarre' arid Catalonia were pessessed' by the French : the pasties of. the' Pyrenees, leading direaly into this .kingdom, were open, and Murat; with the main bail 'of the French fOrces, was stationed at Ma drid. 'Thing surrounded by his enemy, - General Petafei matt :red the regular troops quartered' at Seragossa, and fond that they - amounted to .two hundred and twenty' Mete, and that the public treasury of the province. could ,furnish blunt)* with two thousand renlg, a sutra in 'English money equal to -te'enty pounds; sixteen shillings and eight reeve. Placing, however, a just confidence in the menifested by the people, he imme. "dlately &dared war against the French, by issuitig that spirited Proclamation, which has been circulat ed Mready in England through the medium of the peteic prints. Eaily in the month of June, and before any plans could possibly be executed for organizing a force for the defence of Arragon; , the French de tached eight thousand iplapiry, and nine hundred. cavalry trom • Pampeluna, against. Saragossi.• 'As soon as this movement on the part of the enemy was, ascertained, the Marquis de Lezan, the eldest brother of Don Joseph Palefox, colletied some armed peasantry, and met this twee in the neigh bourhood of Tudela, on the leth ef June. Tire Arragouese were soon ,compelled to retire to the vit.. Loge of Mallen, where they bad again the misfor tune to feel the inefficiency of undisciplined hodieS,. when opposed ,to regular troops, although an olive wood between the canal of Artegoni which support ed the right, and the village of Mallen on the l e tt, could not brit be considered as a levourahle position *wan - irregular force. -1 On. the 14th of June, the French advanced to' Mew, distant about sixteen miles from') Saragosm. The.inhabilants of this city inunedidtely a*sembkd, with , all the arms ef every description which • that. could collect, and atAually compelled their. General to lead them against the enemy,. They had mead 'diced far from Saragossa, when' they found-the trench , in order of battle ip a plain: a position particularly advantageous tq them, as they possessed both cavalry and flying ertillery. The ill-armed and Undisciplined Arragoneso soon felt the soperiorityof the enemy, and were 'obliged to retire to Saragossa. Their retreat, .however, was covered by ten regu lars (who bad been previously joined by some fusi. leers of the province) with a steadinessand gallantry which entitled them to the thanks of their General, and .excited :the admiration of their countrymen. The French now advanced within a very short di3. ittocs of 'aragnssa, where they Wyk up a position in the valley, on the - opperaitsi , side tit .tho. Wwii. id th:it Situated on the Ebto, and which watt tovered by rising ground - planted with olive trees, Mving occupied this post; they deferred their general at tack upOn the city till the morrow; ,but a small dctachwent of cavalry that penetrated , into the town, on the 14th of June, paid dearly for their rashness. The Arragonese had hastily planted some cannon before the gates of their city', and also in favourable positions without the town, particularly at the Tor reed, and upon the height near'to it. On the tsth of June, the French sent-a detach, meat against the outposts upon the canal, while their man, body attempted to: storm the city, 'by the gate called Portilto. The -Arragonese attacked, almost at the same moment, both in their outposts and at the .gates of their town, fooght - with great fury, but Without order ; their artillery was served by any person who. chanced. to be , near: it ; every one alternately commanded, and obeyed; .but all were animated by the samespirit, .and their efforts, after a most severe conflict, were finally crowned with success. A party.of the enemy that entered the town were instantly put to death, and the , French - General, convinced that it was fruitless to persevere in .his attack, withdrew his troops .to a position out of the reach of they cannon of the Arragonese. As soon as the French were repulsed on the 1 stli, June, General, Palatoe set out from Saragossa, in order to coiled reinforcementi, and Provide resourr, cei for a siege, and also to place the rot of the kingdom in a state of defence, should the . capital falle tbund,trom twelve to fourteen hundred soldiers, who had escaped from Madrid, and he united with them a small division oftnilitia stationed Calatayud. With this force, in compliance :.With the urgent desire of his. soldiers, he resolved ,to attack the French. He amrched immediately. to Epila, and it was his intention to have advanced from thence to the village of La Mtiela, by, which manceuvrehe hoped to place the French between 44 little army and the city of Saragossa. Those inteetions,,howevee were frustrated by a .sudden attack on dew part of the enemy, lit the night, 4e Epila, when the Spaniards, after a most obstinate bur fruitless .resistance, were . .at length cOmpielled to yield to superior numbers and,discipline: The wreck of thiii,little force retired from the scene of anion to Calatayud, and afterwards, with great dic ,ficulty, threw theinselvea into Saragossa. During this time the French received reinforce mews of troops and artillery. from 'Pamplona, ,and began to occupy the several military positions in the plain _covered with olive trees, ttiat surrounds . Saragossa. The enterpriye and valour of the be sieged did not allay, their enemies to eery on these operations unmolested :. in a short. time, hoWevee; the Frinch . had invested nearly one halt of the town, and on the 88th of June they rook possession of the Torrero. , The neighbouring battery also, which hail been entrusted to an artillery officer; and five hupdred men, fell into their hands; the Utficer was declared - to be a traitor to his country for not having defended this important post as he ought to have done, and on his return into Saragossa was imam• diettly hanged. ".. • Alter the surrender of, the Torrerce the city could commericate only with the country on the side of the Ebro. During these operations of the enemy, the Arra.; gonese Were busily employed in placing their town in the best possiblestate.of defence that their slen der resources would admit of. They tore down . the awnings from their Windows, and formed'thetn•into sacks, which they filled : with saud, and' piled up before every gate, 'in the form of a battery, digging round - each. of, them a 'deep trench.. 'Clieyibroku holes in th 6 mud, walls' and interrhediate buildings for.musquetry, en d sometimes, where the position was cominanding, , cannon were ' stationed ; the houses in the environs of the city wets pulled down or burned; garden and olive grounds; 'that in defter times had been the recreation and support of their owners, we re,cheerfully rooted up by'the propiictors themselves, wherever they impeded the defence of the city; or coverbd the approach of the enemy. The eu!rtions of th 4 men were noimated by xvomen of every description, who fermed - theinselves into parties for thy relief of the woutided, and for carry, • , itig water and provisions to the batteries at the gates, while: their cleilelrun were ,employed in 'conveying cartridges whieli..h44been made by the Monks. The French ertAttinned to, invest the city' More closely, and seareely.o day passed without a sanguin ary earnest Vii , the surrounding 'olive woods, between detachments 01,:the..4iragonese and their eneniv.— In, the last ti!sii tiays ,of the month of June; 4QO soldiers of the Regiment Litrecnidura, small and. a law.,,.attillerymen, parties J'rtlin Oilier corps, 'contrived to reinforce Saragossa. To theArtiliery , men , were added 200 of the tuilitia of :Logrono, who, animated by the presence of au eneMy, soon learned : the ordinary duties of the corps to ,which, they were' attached. About the same time, two pieces, ut .(twenty-four pouuder's), and some shells, that were much wanted, were procured from -Lerida. l'ha enemy, et the same time, drew their, re-, , 4ources from the stores in the citade l of ramplona, whilst the Arragonese, now .comphuely surrounded by the French, had nct. one single fortress to which they could have recourse, either , for ammunition or for cannon. About the last day of: June, a, powder tnna?.ine, a n very strong building. in the heart of the :city of Saragossa, blew . up; and, in a 'moment, .nsarly a whole iitrilet was reduced to a heap of ruins I the in, habitants of Sar.igdstia had scarcely recovered from their consternation at this fatal and irreparable loss, nod from the labour of extricating. their fellow chi ielli from the ruins : of their houses, when ilia French, who had received mortars, howitzers, and Cannon (twelve Tounders, of sufficient calibre for, the mud-walls of Saragossa). opened a destruetive tire upon the city.. It has been estimared.that about 1200 shells and grenades fell in Baragossa, which had not ono building within it that was bomb proof, nor had the inhabitants then' ,talien the precaution of placing .beams of timber together endways against the houses, behind which fiassen gets might find shelter wbenevet a shell should chance to fall 'near them. The attack of the enemy seemed to be direaed principally against the. gate called Tortilla, and the J,QNDON; Printed by RIC i►i the ibus.Uni, tIY the i•reiich, hi The Ciiiti•e • tif Whtcii 6eneial • diet' was seen giving his tirdeit from the Francison convent. The Arragonese indintainekt their posi tions-on the opposite. side,_ thcOwi% up batteries at the openygs of the streets; *HMI a few paced of iimiiar batteries of the French. The intervenin space wassooriheaped up with dead, either ihrowil from the windows of the hoases in which they had been slain, or killed in the contlias below. Nothing, in the whole course of the si,Kre mord embarrassed Don Joseph Palafox, than this enor••• mous accumulation of. the dead, .and this appre= hension of the contagious disorders which mu,t in.; fallibly result from it,. To an Arraptiese. alitiost certain death to :appear iii the , middle of the street ; and, the expedient resAtted to vat tJ push forward French prisomirs, with a rope attached n them, amidst the 'dead and the dying/to remove the bodies of their countrymen, • and: bring them iii fur The in which they were employed and the pitrof their'own 'soldiers, secured them la geneeal from any antioyance„and by this expedient the evils. arh!ing from the horrible corruption of thc dead, iVits'in some degree nii.i.nished. . 04 the sth of August, when the French' V*o eXpeCted to renew their efforts to obtain complete possession of the city, the Arragonese fonod their. ammunition begin to . fail ; but even this ciretrin stance created no dismay, nor did it suge-'st to any. one 'the. idea of capitulation. assailed the ears of the gallant general as he rOdo among the people, was, that if ammunition failed, thy were ready to attack the enemy w ith their aWful Crisis, knives alone. At this The only cry that is, just before the day.closed, a convoy 'prov'isions and ammuni tion, and a reinforcement of 3000 men, composed of Spanish guards; Swiss, and volunteers of Arm! , grin, unexpectedly made their entry into the cit Y. under the command of the brother of the Captain- General, Don Francisco Palafox. For eleven successive days the most sanguinary conflia was continued from street to street, irons house to house, and from room to room. The spirit displayed by the.men was seconded ist the most admirable manner by the women' of Sara gossa.. The Countess Burita, a lady' of 'great rank' in.tbat country, formed a corps of women for dies relief of the wounded, and for the purpose of ing wino and provisiOns' to the soldiers: many • persons of the most unquestionable veracity in Sara" gossa declare that they lave frequently seen ( big y ~ tending onng, to the;delicate,d4atnieds she i Uti f fu ad l , t p v r e e t s n c a c t .o i, ed eo, to leer'ollya. self, in the midst Of: the Most tremendous fire.', ol . shot and . shells. Daring the night of the 13th of. August, 11 4 French tire woo particularly destrunire, and when their batteries *:rased, flames were observed to burst out in many pi is of the building 4 in their: possvb". sion and on the Morning . of the i4th, to thp great. Surprise of the Arragonese, their column's Were sore! at a.distance, 'reifeating over the plain, the r94ti to Pamplona. Their . depitture had prolxibly beiN 4 hastened . by intelligence, that the Junta of Vslenciri bad diipatched duo() men to join the leVies in Arra" gAirt, destined to:relieve the capi4ll. Thus tem.inated the siege of SlragoisJ, , A 11 ;c" , whether it be considered w . ‘th reference to 11)0 st 1 1 1 " - . rithity of them?-ans of annoyance ill nosso,ioil the enciny, to the utter in . :apabiiity 01 ' l ' ° re.sist a re l ;-!-..r and continued entaegs 10 stances of cotleCtive and individual courage, patience and heroism of ha defenders, of either • stxl in .every situation of cite, 'can ue rieetned seco nd to none recorded. in the annals of ancient or tuoUr" .titues. The Glorious 2t tvorApril will be' i n n ett a lf in lTe .d dr t. . , day, m'hen the Grand State - Lottery w lag. Those perrons who have delayed purchasing .their usual adventures, ate requested to apply, with' out delay, to either of the Licensed Lottery Ofit t-'ss . in order that they may be in ' time to obwin tiler grand additional Prize of Imo Whole Tickets. The Lottery commencing on Wednesday I wo is so very advantageous to the adventdrer, that there MO' very few persons but what will have a Ticket or Shalt. Hoaxsay and Co. hope their Friends will not fail 1 0 embrace this opportunity, and would advise the Clubs to purchase this week, as the demand' for' 'rickets and. Shares hourly increases, at their Old Established State Lottery Offices, 26, Cornhill, St. iNtargaret's Hill, Borough, and no where else 01 1 their account in.. London. Stiff NEWS. • ' ONAVIISIND, Ara IL 4. . Arrived: — the Helen, Th omas , f rom Surinam ; ZephYr• Thratti from Lisbon; Sally, Bailey, (rem St. Michael's; lamer - I toutia, Camber, from , Malta ; and the Minerva, human, from Swedtri. Sallo4.—the Commercinna, Vsnselow, for Stocktolini Vrow Margaret's, --, Vrow Able's, and Itla (oily Hendrick. Hendricks, for Heligoland. BIRTHS. . 04 Thursday last, at — ijartimetsmith, the Lady of M . Cutts, Eq. of a 041;lite.r. Oti the 3 tst uI t: th,e: Lady of T. Buckler Lethbritigto. EA' M.P., ©f a llanOter. of . Ou Sunday Clonrrtel, the Hun. Mrs. Jel , " °n, a Sinituvi Heir. • • Mrs. Malconpon, wine of D. Mal c° "" Qn ' Esq. rof a Non., On Tuesdn'y last, k C. Pohlman, 1 , . q 11144RRIEL). to Anne , yourigot daughter ot tii6 late ohert Wii',...,u-, .;•:j . , ot i•a llll3,6l'' ' ' duitsstreg. • . . • '' dames philit' The spite day, at Henky.ott-Thames, Mr. 'er Hewlett, A. Ni. of M,;clalen Collcg,e, 0 Xt;;)rd, to MissE 6 " l 13euzevale; dauptri Of .Yeterticticarille, Esq. ...art- On Tueiittay, Mr. , Itobina, Surgeon, of 'fottenhani-u -- roAd, to. Rms. Lioyd.All I C4' . . Oa We4ne;;;NY, , it Signt6 Church, Southampt on, T. fain third, ot the. 'Guards, •to'•Mlss Dixon ' (laughter of lltxon, - Esq. turoltriv ot Ito k.atit-Incli4 Service. , ~,,it 'Latclv, at 1` eat Wi. - corlsb,t Church, Itelr. Doyle, Pr " 47 Holborn, to Nllss Crowther, of Plower-WA:ea. 1/1"5. PIRO. Inn kl : lclY . , at Bath, aged , G lyou Wynn, Esq. of Lincoilno: Early on Sunday . morning hat, at his house in Dover', L'atdy, Esq. orthe Blue, in the 69th year 0 . 1)6 age(' leaving two sons, both Nosk.Captaios of tue Royal NO Y' Pl' ICL OF STOCKS • x~asaßnky. , India Stock, shut, India guilds, ton, Ip.'pr. South Sea Stock, 134 ton 11114. 1 , ° , 5 ; f r Imperial 3 per Cent. 0? s Ditto Ann. - z Cont. fof azth inst. 61ft 1, dank Stork, shut Navy penL'ent..oi s percent. t797i shut trish s per Ceut. shut 4 per Cent. shut 3 per Cent. Red. shut per Cent. Can. 67i Bank L. Ann. shut castle neat it WitliOnCtiieVaih; and ttshi.ch aruitin/ more than n large square building ; made use of as a prison, aild surrounded by a .deep diteh/..! The sand bag battery, before the gate-of the Portillo, was gal lantly defended by the: Arentmese. :It was seVeral times destroyed, and' as often re , construtted .under the fire of the enemy. The carnage in this battery throughout the day was truly terrible. It was here that an ail of heroism was performed by a female, to which history scarcely affords , a parallel, Angus, tins Zaragoza, about 22 years of age, a tynidsome woman, of the lower class of people, whilst per forming her duty of carrying refreshments to the gates, arrived at the battery of the Put tillo, at the iery otoment. When the French fire, had abSolutely destroyed every person that .was stationed in The.citizens 'and soldiers.for the moment hesitated to re-man the guns; Augustina rushed forward over the wounded and slain,' snatched a match-from t hand of a dead artilleryman, and-fired off a twenty six-pounder, then jumping upon the gun,' made a solemn vow never to quit it alive during the siege c acid having' stimulated her fellow citizens by this daring intrepidity to fresh exertions, they instantly rushed into the battery, , and again opened a tremen dous fire upon'theenetny. ' When the writer of this narrative saw this ,heroine at -Saragossa, she had a small shield of honour eAnnoideked on the sleeve of her gown,. 'Willi "Saragessa" inscribed upon it, and was receiving a pki.sion from the Government, and the daily pay of an artilletymam ‘- On . the. , of July, as , soon as the morning broke, a column of the enemy marched out of their battery, almost within musket-shot of the Portillo, and the remaioder of their force was seen-drawn up, as though with an ionnt to second the attack .01 the advancing column, or.. to profit by its success. should penetrate into Saragossa. With fixed bayonets, .a,Pfl . witheut discharging a shot, the co lumn of the enemy marched towards, the battery of the Portillo but, as soon as they reached the castle, a destruotive fire of grape and musketry was opened upon their flank; the consequence of which Was, that th:., French column immediately .dispersed, notwithstanding the most gallant exertions of their Officers. . . . . , Mother column of infantry was instantly :di , rthed by the French General to advance against the gate of the Carmen, on the left of the Portillb: This gate was defended 4, a sand-bag battery and musquetry, which, lining.the walls on each side, commanded two, ont of three approaches to the gate; this column was also also repulsed with loss. Defeated in. these two attacks, the enemy pro ceeded to invest the place still more.closely. Above the ,city the Ebro was fordable, and below it the French, in spite of tbe-efforts of ',the Arrago nese, had constructed a,bridge on the 14th of: .1,t)17. Having by these means transported their cava:ry to the opposite I.3auk of the, river, they .destroyed the which supplied. the town with , flour, levied centrib.utionain,.the different villages,. and thus cot ow the, only corntnutncation,by which the besieged could receive any supplies, either. of pro Visions or ammunition. Every difficulty, however, which they hourly, nay, momentarily experienced, served only to heighten the resentment of the people, and to,call forth the rosources ot ,their naive and intel ligent general . . In this critical situation he caused Cern-tnills, .worked by horses,, to be established in various parts of the city, and, nrdered the monks to be employed under skilful diredors in manufaEtur,, ing gunpowder. All the :sulphur ~which the place atforded. was put into. immediate requisition, ,the earth of the, streets was :carefully washed in order to turnish.aaitpetre;,and charcoal.ivas made of the stalks of hemp,. which in that part of Spain grows to a very unusual-size ; . and on this simple founda tion there has been formed, since the siege, a regu lar 4nanufactoly of gunpowder, which yields 13 arobali of Castile per day, or 2!.!5 pounds of 12 ounces. , . At the close of the month of July, the Arno nese found their city cotniletely invested -by 'the enerny. Their large population was .now but scan tily supplied , With food, and had little or no hope of •succour. BY . the oureuntted'exections of forty-six, days ; their spirits were exhausted, and . their. toddy strength necessarily impaired. Without -a single place of security for their sick ,and their children, they were iu hourly expeation of another general attack, and a second more loriniciable bombard ment; while their streets were tilled with wound ed, in C'OaieqUelled of daily skirmishes with • the enemy, entered into in order to open Cotnrounk 'cation with the country. At this moment one des ? perate effort was made, though in vain, ro recover. the important. position of the Torrey° ; ,after which the Arragonese, Convinced of „the inipos,ibility of Making ii sprtie with dea„ resp)ve4l to conquer, or to perish 4ithin the walls of,their city. On the night of the ,td'of August, and go the. &flowing day, the French bo.noarded Saragos s a . from their, batteries opposite, the Carmen. :A found whieh contained the sick and wound-. eel, who from time to time, had been .cenveyed there 0 durino• the siege, unfortunately caught .fire, , and was rapidly consumed. During this dreadful : calamity, the exertions ot every description of rp pie were almost Unparalleled all attention ; vate property was instantly abandoned, and -eyet-y„ body was seen hastening. to. the relief of the sick . and helpless , children,who occupied this On the 3d of August the French shad completed. their batteries upon the right bank ,of the Guava, rivulet that falls lute the Ebro, and 'is separated 'only from the walls of Saragossa by the breadth of a common road. Nearly, .opposite to the centre. of these batteries, and within pistol-shot, was the gate of the ,Santa Eogracia, .so .called from a splendid convent add chorch.situated at one side of it. On. the 4th of August the French opened a tremendoiis fire upon this quarter of the city, and in an nostaut the mud walls opposite to. their batteries vanished,. and the splendid convent of the Santa Eugracia was on fire and tottering in ruins. • The FrenCh columns immediately. availed them- Selves of this entrance, to rush into the city, took in reverse the batteries before the adjacent gates, and, alter a seVertlaild sanguinary confii t penetrsting to , the Calle de Cozo,, nearly in the centre (tithe town, Were in possession before the day closed of one half of Saragossa. . . One side of tbq 'street Cozo, the.breadth of which is about equal to that of Pell Mall, was now occupied ARD HARRIS, of No. 4, Martlett.cout.t. ; and Publishpi by : WILLI A ,M ARMIC; ER SC South 111oltun.street, Gro*venor.squak. NQ. 1 t 9, Strand ),Iblivre Adeertiseineks, Orders for the Paper, Lettav tai the Editor; zw.c. (post.paift), must be,adtkessed.